After a while, the babies holding her finally cried themselves out.
Ye Wenxue patted Dazhuang's head and gave the excuse she had just thought of:
"They got into a fight over the spoils, and I...we quickly went back to the house to pack our things; we couldn't stay in the village any longer."
Dazhuang wiped away his tears, subconsciously clutching Ye Wenxue's tattered hemp clothes, hesitating slightly:
"But the village head and the others are discussing fleeing the famine the day after tomorrow..."
Because of the famine, the mother gave the village head a few taels of silver and a chicken, fearing that the village head would think that their family was a burden and would not take them with him when they fled.
If I leave early, not only will I lose the gifts, but it won't be safe on the road either.
If you travel with the villagers, at least you'll have someone to look after you if anything happens.
Ye Wenxue knew his worries, and pointed to the pitch-black Shanqing Village:
"Fleeing with these people? It's better for our family to leave separately; at least our own family won't abandon us to our deaths."
Da Zhuang was taken aback, his gaze sweeping blankly across the entire village.
The village of Shanqing was quiet at night, which made the sobbing of the children all the more loud.
With such a commotion, it's impossible that no one in the village didn't hear it, yet not a single person has opened their door to check on the situation.
Even the village head's family, who had accepted the money and promised to take care of them, were no exception.
Dazhuang gritted his teeth, turned around and left.
Ye Wenxue quickly stopped her, "Wait, where are you going?"
Dazhuang angrily declared, "I'm going to get the money back!"
This three taels of silver was earned by my mother, who, despite her frail health, worked tirelessly in town for over a month, selling many valuable items and adding to our family's wealth.
Since they weren't going to flee the famine with the people from Shanqing Village, the silver and chickens shouldn't just go to the village head's family for nothing.
Ye Wenxue thought so too.
She gathered the three children, who were no taller than her waist, and went forward to put the baby Yuan Yuan, whose cries sounded like a kitten, into Da Zhuang's arms, then handed him the wood-chopping knife:
Are you scared?
Dazhuang hugged his thin little sister tightly, looking at his frail mother and his brother and sister, who were filled with fear and apprehension, under the moonlight.
He reached out and took the wood-chopping knife, gripping it tightly, his expression resolute.
"Mother, I'm not afraid."
Ye Wenxue smiled with satisfaction:
"Take them back inside to pack their belongings, and I'll go to the village head's house to get the silver."
"Before I come back, no one is allowed to open the door. If anyone tries to force their way in, just pull out your knife."
Da Zhuang nodded solemnly.
*
As Ye Wenxue climbed over the wall into the village head's courtyard, she happened to hear He Laoda's voice coming from inside:
"Father, are you really not going to go and see? Widow Cheng did give our family a few taels of silver. If something happens, the villagers might not listen to you anymore."
Before the village head's aged voice could even ring out, another young voice responded, panting heavily:
"Those three taels of silver aren't even enough for the whole family to have meat for a few meals now!"
"A widow with a bunch of burdens, and she still shamelessly wants to come with us to escape the famine? Isn't she just trying to drag us all to our deaths?!"
"If you ask me, we're already doing right by not joining in the kicking and kicking someone when they're down."
Boss He: "Fifth Brother, you!"
"Alright," the village head said, tapping the table lightly. "These days are chaotic. Whether she lives or dies is up to the widow of the Cheng family; it has nothing to do with us."
Ye Wenxue sneered and kicked the door open:
"Give me back the silver and the chicken, and then we can discuss whether it's related or not!"
At this time of year, even brown rice and wild vegetables are hard to come by, let alone chickens and eggs.
The original owner knew that he couldn't protect the only chicken with five children and was afraid of causing unnecessary trouble, so he simply gave the last hen in the house to the village head for protection.
The three taels of silver were tolls, so that the village head could take them with him to escape the famine and find a way to survive.
She didn't expect that giving a few taels of silver would make the village head and his family do their best to protect her and her five children.
But the village head accepted the silver and chickens, patted his chest and promised to protect the original owner's family, taking them with him as they fled the famine.
The original owner's husband died tragically while standing up for Shanqing Village, having listened to the village head's advice.
Both morally and logically, the village head should not have stood idly by and watched the original owner's entire family be murdered.
It wasn't time to flee the famine yet, and although he clearly heard commotion at the end of the village, he refused to go out to rescue people.
It's disheartening that they wouldn't even bother to shout a couple of times to scare away the thugs.
Upon seeing the door kicked open, the people inside immediately became alert; some grabbed knives, while others moved stools.
They were all taken aback when they saw who it was.
The village head pushed aside his sons and stepped forward, noticing the wound on Ye Wenxue's forehead. His eyes darted around.
He chuckled and said:
"Widow Cheng, what are you saying? Didn't we agree on something...?"
Ye Wenxue was worried about her children at home and didn't have time to banter with him, so she said directly:
“I heard what you just said, and I’m not willing to do anything shameless.”
"Give me back the three taels of silver and the chicken, and we'll call it quits about you taking my family to escape the famine."
The village head and his sons behind him were all taken aback.
Everywhere was in chaos and the people were suffering. If they didn't flee with the villagers, where else could they find a way to survive?
Old He tentatively advised:
"Why are you doing this? The journey of fleeing famine may be tough, but there's always a chance to survive..."
Before Boss He could finish speaking, a goose poked its head out from the doorway, patted its feet, and cleverly leaped over Ye Wenxue, grabbing his leg in one bite.
"You ungrateful beast! I'll stew you tomorrow!"
He was caught off guard and was bitten. He cried out in pain and kicked at the goose, but it was easily dodged.
Ye Wenxue, with her sharp eyes, spotted the kitchen knife hidden behind He Laoda's back. Without hesitation, she struck him, knocking him to the ground in a few blows. Stepping on his neck, she turned to the village head:
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